


A Grandfather's Cue

by JadeFlicker



Series: 10 Days of LawLu (In General) [6]
Category: One Piece
Genre: 10 Days of LawLu, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Battlefield, Can be read as nakamaship instead, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Crack among the viscera, Fighting, Gen, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Marine Civil War, This ended up being more Garp and Sengoku centric than I thought it would, can be read either way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-08 05:36:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18888235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadeFlicker/pseuds/JadeFlicker
Summary: Sengoku simply reached into his jacket, pulling out a bundle of papers and unfurled the newspaper with a sharp smack, "If this isn't our cue, then I don't know what is."





	A Grandfather's Cue

**Author's Note:**

> Look who's alive. *points to self*
> 
> Now look who isn't. *points below*
> 
> I'll be honest, this ended being a lot more Garp-centric than I meant it to be. Especially for a LawLu fic...but hey, I spent a loooonngg time working on this. And it was meant to be a moment of LawLu bonding.
> 
> Please enjoy.

 

 The first time he sees his foolish grandson and sorta grandson again in the flesh…

 

And both little brats were all beaten to hell.

 

There was the older one who had the gall to PLAY DEAD and then the utter BALLS to publicly stand with his stupid son. Specifically, to stand with said son when he went and _declared war on the Celestial Dragon assholes_. Now the blonde rascal was worn, panting, and a little wild-eyed as he clashed with another one of that bastard Teach's lackeys. _(Some distant part of his brain that actually listened to Sengoku's rants muttered that it was some upper lieutenant or another.)_

 

Meanwhile, his younger and equally feckless grandchild was already almost down for the count like a lily-livered pussy. Even at this distance, he could see that the rubber brat was more bruised, lumpy, and beaten than a pair of old boots. If he were a cat, he'd be down eight and a half lives. His so-called attacks more or less amounted to him dragging himself along as he bodily flung himself around to bowl people over at this point. In _Garp's_ day—

 

The old man released a deep, venting sigh through bristly nostrils; exhaling hard enough for his barrel chest to tremble at the force of it.

 

He'd get to that later. Smack some sense into those brats' head after the boys greeted their grandfather respectfully, as was proper. But for now…

 

_(Psssh! None of his grandchildren had ever greeted him respectfully a day in their lives! Whether they were of his blood, adopted, or just one day appeared out of nowhere overnight like a weed. Cheeky, disrespectful, little rascals.)_

 

Studying the opposition ( _if they could even be called that_ ), the old man huffed in exasperation and picked his nose with his pinky, half-heartedly assessing what was going on.

 

It was a familiar scene, but not a good one. According to his (Sengoku's) sources, Sabo was here for some Revolutionary mission to support the country's rebel forces in overthrowing the current Celestial Dragon-supported president. Meanwhile, Luffy (that softhearted, spoiled fool) had gotten entangled with the _former_ president's fugitive family and was now fighting on their behalf, as the brat was wont to do with every sob story he crashed headfirst into.

 

From Coby's frantic muttering to his other apprentice, it turns out the forces that the Celestial Dragons had hired to support their puppet leader was a part of that patsy-footed coward "Blackbeard's" stronger underlings. So now Luffy, Sengoku's little surgeon devil, his son's protégé, and all their little minions had gotten in over their heads. As usual. These had been some of the Impel Down escapees that they never quite fully rounded up as well as some _old school_ criminals old enough that Garp could vaguely recognize them. And the fact he could recognize them at all said something. They'd probably made some impression of their strength on a younger him; even might've put a handful of them into Impel Down himself. He'd maybe remember if he really thought about it…

 

…Too troublesome. His smallest grandson had beaten them anyways, so what was the point?

 

In the meantime, their troublemakers were limping along the fight like mangy dogs being harassed and swallowed by waves and waves of underling-minion fleas. His grinning, rubber brat was well over the edge of exhaustion, having beaten "overwhelming waves of odds" and an enemy that everyone said was impossible to beat. _(PAH! Nonsense! No one was unbeatable.)_ They'd won their fights, but at a cost. It was obvious by the way his crew and allies swarmed and circled, closing in and bracing themselves. Revolutionaries, that little clubhouse that called themselves the "Straw Hat Armada" or "Straw Hat-Hearts-something Alliance" or whatever ( _or were those separate groups?_ ), this country's rebel forces, and the surviving citizens fell back, working well in covering for each other's falters even as they couldn't immediately do anything about the injuries. Apparently, the Trafalgar bastard had pretty much fallen comatose. There was still the minuscule chance of them breaking out from where they were cornered, but with each passing second, their chances were…

 

Huh…

 

So they were all good and properly trapped.

 

"Eh?" he realized, smacking a fist into his palm as he stared slack-jawed over the field. "They're doomed."

 

Now, he could have dodged Sengoku's hard smack to the back of his head, but that was beside the point.

 

"Take this seriously, Garp!" Sengoku barked. "Sakazuki's main contingent will be here in a few minutes. We don't have time for your usual damn antics!"

 

The Marine Hero supposed that the man had a point. While the brats were ripping through the rest of Teach's weaklings like so much paper, the numbers were clearly wearing them down. They wouldn't be able to hold out when the fresh forces that bastard Sakazuki had ordered to mobilize swooped in like vultures and indiscriminately swept up all the offenders. Their oh-so-honorable Fleet Admiral would be utterly delighted to capture Blackbeard's unconscious, beaten-to-bloody-pieces-of-shit lieutenants. He would be _ecstatic_ to snatch up the so-called "Fifth Emperor" _(HA! At least his grandson was making something of himself!)_ , his crew, and all his notorious allies _on top_ of some high-ranking Revolutionaries. Hell, the man might even _smile_.

 

Garp's musings and attempts to imagine the magma-brat smiling was interrupted by a throat clearing. While he usually ignored anyone who tried that shit with him, he knew who was trying to get his attention. He turned his head slightly to indicate for the Marine Captain to continue even as he kept his main focus on the battlefield.

 

"Sir," Coby started. He was so nervous, this one. Even when he was a sniveling but determined brat. _(Hehe…As if he'd ever stopped being a being one!)_ At least this one always greeted him respectfully. Unlike certain brats that lived to break their grandfather's poor heart. "What are your orders?"

 

Sengoku eyed the boy speculatively, which made Garp puff up with pride. When he trained boys to become Marines, he did good work. He turned a little more to really look his student over.

 

Well. Even he had to admit that the screaming brat was truly a young man now. Apparently, if his grandson wouldn't become a Marine and learn from his Grandpa, he'd inspire another brat that would. And Coby grew up to be a good Marine. He and the Turnip Brat both. He was proud of the boys. A bit wistful too, but damn if he was ever going to say it.

 

"Is it not obvious, Captain?" Sengoku rumbled distractedly. Retirement, or the closest thing a former Fleet Admiral could come to it, had done him good. But he'd never lost his edge; taking command and doing all the squiggly, confusing, analyzing shit had been like shrugging on an old coat for the bastard. Pushing his glasses up, said bossy bastard turned to face the forces lined up in mass behind them with an (overdramatic, in Garp's opinion) flutter of his coat. The harsh, unmoving declaration allowed no quarter as it rose, "OUR PRIORITIES IS TO MAKE SURE THE CIVILIANS AND THEIR PROTECTORS ESCAPE AND DRIVE OFF THE FORCES SLAUGHTERING THIS COUNTRY'S CITIZENS! _PROTECT THE CIVILIANS! ENSURE THE PEACE!_ " Tilting his head to look back at Coby with an approving quirk on his mouth, "The safety of the citizens and the country that is caught up in all this is our priority as Marines, is it not?"

 

Young Coby had always had a flexible but stubborn sense of Justice, had always been in the camp that the Marine's focus should be on protecting the innocent. Privately, Sengoku had confessed to Garp that he saw the future of the Marines in this teary-eyed young man who grinned with excited relief at their approval and underlying message.

 

"Of course, Sir!"

 

Garp huffed impatiently. "If that's how it is, then let's go already!"

 

And without further ado, the man leaped right off the cliff overlooking the battle and into the crowd below. His entrance into the battle was heralded by a great _CRASH!_ The weight and force creating a crater across the wide street, sending cobblestones and great waves of dust flying out around him like an explosion.

 

Rising from his bow-legged position, the Marine delighted in the trepidation and then dawning FEAR on the scums' face. He grinned widely at them with the wild, hard, pinpoint eyes of a delighted predator on the hunt. With little preamble, he let a great, bracing shout and started lumbering through the fighting, casually smacking and kicking aside the small fry. He was vaguely aware of the rising roar as the rest of the Marines finally got their asses moving and poured into the heaving battle.

 

About time, he was already half to where his grandson and kinda-grandson were. But, eh. More for him, though he honestly wasn't being picky about it.

 

The old man felt his blood roar in his ears and his muscles burn in a manner it hadn't in a long time. Something to be said about being allowed to just go wild. Unless it was obviously a civilian, he just pounded on whoever got in his way indiscriminately. Sorting it out was too bothersome and he was having a grand old time now that he could finally, slowly, start letting loose.

 

He was suddenly knocked out of his mindset, interrupted by a sudden fist slamming his head to the side. And while his feet didn't leave the ground, it reminded him about needing to keep his Observation Haki more active. The usual, constant, low-key observation just wasn't going to cut it here. Not with certain, specific players on this field.

 

"Garp the Hero," the man sneered, though the Marine could see the brat was dripping cold sweat. Could almost smell the terror wafting off his attacker. But that fear didn't stop him from charging forward and punching the Hero in the solar plexus, so Garp figure he could give the flea some credit. Pissant had guts for trying to sink his puny fist in his gut.

 

 _HA!_ As if he could actually feel such a weak, spineless punch. Soft, arrogant, little punks. Every last one of them.

 

Wrapping a huge hand around the pirate's entire front, he tossed the lucky grunt over his shoulder, into the air, and consequently through a few buildings.

 

Glancing over his shoulder as he dealt with another fool, the oldest member of the Monkey family tch'ed in annoyance when he saw the throw hadn't been quite as far as he'd thought.

 

"I'm getting soft." He grumbled.

 

_"GAAAAARRRRPPP!!!"_

 

Oh, well look at that. Sengoku noticed.

 

"GARP, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" his old comrade snarled, grabbing a couple charging pirates by the heads and smashing them together without missing a beat. "We are supposed to be protecting the citizens. _NOT_ causing _EVEN_ _MORE_ PROPERTY DAMAGE!"

 

The Marine Hero growled in annoyance. It was chaos. It was always chaos, but this time of the more blood-raising, steel ringing, screaming sort rather than laughter, exasperated yelling, and crazy antics. As if they had any real choice but to rampage to the fullest here. The very air made his blood pump and boil and his bones _ached_ for this fight,

 

"AAAH LAY OFF!" Garp roared back as he finally came upon someone he recognized. So that's how some no-name grunt got the jump on him. He growled at the long-nosed woman who casually lounging among the chaos. " _Catarina Devon!_ "

 

Her smile was thin, yet too wide and so condescending as she lazily looked over to him. "Why, if it isn't the Hero of the Marines himself! Are you enjoying my little soiree here? I put quite a bit of effort into it."

 

"Not particularly," he snorted, his knuckles cracking as he got into a proper fighting stance, his Haki cackling and causing those nearby to stumble away from him. "It's the trashiest thing I've ever seen.

 

""Nu-uh uh~!" she tutted. "Do you _really_ have time to dance with me, _Monkey_?" she sneered. "Or perhaps you should help your grandsons." Thin, sadistic smile. _"They're looking like they having a bit of a difficult time."_

 

He hesitated. He knew he shouldn't have, had already lost so much in those other moments of his life when he had hesitated, torn between two sides and unable to commit solely to either because he was a _Marine_ but he was also a _D_. He was a _sworn soldier_ , but he was also a _grandfather_ who loved his grandsons.

 

Garp hesitated and looked off to the side where his grandchildren were fighting for their lives.

 

And she slashed him even as he instinctively struck out, clotheslining her across the midriff and throwing her back into the wall she had been leaning against with a _CRASH!_

 

He gingerly touched his own side, and there was no wetness or cut. But pain throbbed from within his body, and the old man was intimately familiar with the feeling of internal bleeding at this point of his life. His eyes roving over the debris, Garp tch'ed again in frustration when he couldn't see or sense the devil woman. She had already run, that ghost attack of hers almost playful if you didn't consider how she had all the constraint of a cat in a room full of rodents. Those attacks using that Nine-Tailed Fox model Devil Fruit was a frightening thing, perfectly suited for the World's Most Dangerous Female Pirate and fitting for that blaggart's crew.

 

They still had no idea what Teach planned, but he had a hunch that Sengoku was right about that coward playing the World Nobles. Devon was part of Teach's inner circle, and it was clear she hadn't been serious about this. Simply looking over everything with the amusement of a psychotic child watching ants burn.

 

He wouldn't have the time to have his veritably invisible wound looked over unless the Trafalgar brat managed to miraculously revive from being an almost-corpse anytime soon. Devon wasn't wrong. Those impudent grandchildren of his in trouble.

 

Grunting, he lumbered and pushed his way through the seething masses with an enraged shout and marched right towards the brat he had shed tears over in his private moments. Said child was pale from blood loss and only got paler when the hairs on the back of his neck rose and the ground trembled beneath their feet. Growing increasingly terrified because some things were instinctive even with fuzzy memories, he slowly turned around as the people he was fighting scurried away.

 

" _G-G-G-GARP?!?!_ " Sabo stuttered, quivering.

 

" _YOU BLONDE BRAT!_ " Garp roared. And promptly punched the little brat through a boulder. " _YOU WERE ALIVE THIS WHOLE TIME AND NEVER CAME TO GREET ME?!?!_ "

 

Because he had made it clear back then. If the impudent was going to hang around, then he would go through the same training, be dealt the same Fist of Love, become a Marine, and not be a bad influence!

 

" _WHAAAAA?!_ " a bunch of the surrounding crowd yelped. Now whether they were pirate, Marine, or Revolutionary…

 

" _Wait!_ If Garp is Straw Hat's grandfather and the Chief of Staff is Straw Hat's brother… _Doesn't that make—?!_ "

 

Garp ignored the whole lot of them, simply rolling up a sleeve as strode over to where the blonde rascal had fallen and was now doing his best to scramble away. Not that he got very far before Garp grabbed the back of his collar with a Haki-imbued fist, heaved them up with his victim giving a quiet ‘meep', and bodily threw him like one of his cannonballs into the now staring crowds.

 

More screams ensued. One of them being Sengoku,

 

"STOP BEING INTENTIONALLY CONFUSING, YOU DEMENTED APE!" Sengoku growled, a vein throbbing his forehead. The ape pointedly ignored the staring. Meanwhile, Sengoku was sighing through his nose. Very few things united people quite like those very weird moments of bonding over the kind of mutual confused fuckery that only D's could achieve.

 

They needed to focus and _hurry_. While Revolutionaries, pirates, soldiers, civilians, and Marines clamored on, he quickly stepping in before Garp could grab hold of the _Revolutionary Army's No._ 2 again. Stepped in and _punched_ the _stupid old geezer_ in the head for making _another goddamn scene_.

 

He ignored the blonde brat's reverent, dazed murmurings thanking Buddha. It was his own damn fault. What sane person thought it would be a good idea to join a _D_ family? Really, enough of this shit. He wanted to go back into retirement. His blood pressure had been doing so well up until things started moving again. Grumbling mutinously, he dragged both Garp and Garp's protegee over to where the main knot of civilians, defending pirates, and defending soldiers were gathered. And as they got closer, he picked up on the rapid-fire, frantic communications.

 

"Guuuyyss?" the white bear Mink bleated in panic. "P-p-p-p-p- _PROBLEM!_ Multiple h-h-hostile readings north, heading our way!"

 

"That'll be the Marines," Straw Hat's Roronoa grunted, voice somehow clear despite speaking with a sword in his mouth. This immediately seemed to spur on a cacophony of voices from their allies.

 

 "LUFFY-SEMPAI! YOU NEED TO LEAVE!!!!"

 

"Straw-hat! We'll hold them for as long as we can! GO!"

 

"The Straw Hat Armada will make you proud!"

 

"Only right, ain't it? I'll repay ma debts ta ya, Straw Hat."

 

"SHUT UP!" Straw Hat's roar rose above all the other voices, his face twisted and his teeth bared in a fearsome scowl. "WE'RE NOT LEAVING ANYONE BEHIND!"

 

Garp grinned toothily, childishly bright and genuinely happy. It was moments like these that revealed that the hulking figure _was in fact_ related the much smaller and lither Straw Hat.

 

"Do you see that, Sengoku?" the bastard cheered, laughing in that stupid, carefree manner of an idiot who couldn't read the mood. "That's MY grandson!"

 

"I'm well aware, you old coot," was the flat, unamused reply from the man who used to have to _deal_ with the problems that were caused by the Straw Hat Menace. "But if you're done being a fool, we still _have a battle to fight_. And seriously, does your grandbrat realize that the whole battlefield can hear him?!"

 

Garp blinked up at him a couple with a blank look. Distantly, someone tripped over the drag marks left behind by hauling something as heavy as the Marine Hero and was then stabbed through the neck. "Can they?"

 

"Justice save me…," Sengoku begged under his breath. He _wished_ Garp was screwing with him, but he knew the bastard long enough to tell when the bastard was genuinely ignorant. Which was, unfortunately, most of the time. Meanwhile, _someone_ had to focus.

 

"Oi, Luffy!" aforementioned daft bastard grinned, open and casually happy and as if he were strolling through a field of daisies rather than a flaming field of viscera and bodies. "Grandpa came to arrest pirates!"

 

"GRANDPA?!?!" Straw Hat's panicked yelp piped up from somewhere. Privately, Sengoku found it somewhat satisfying to see that the rubber captain's reaction to Garp was also general hysteria and panic. It made Sengoku feel less like _he_ was the crazy one and vindictively happy that the Straw Hat brat felt at least a _fraction_ of his headache.

 

"Wonderful," a female voice in the knot of Peace Main pirates groaned. "More Marines. More people out to get us. And even worse… _More of Luffy's crazy family_."

 

…Sengoku wasn't sorry.

 

He _sympathized_ , but he wasn't sorry.

 

"Anyways," Garp continued with a shrug. "You heard Sengoku. All citizens and civilians of this country, as well as their allies, should leave. We'll hold off the mercenaries and those soldier brats that think they're being sneaky." The old man snorted derisively as he took out another attacker. "Psh, as if it weren't obvious as piss that they're Mariejois knights. You think they'd be more hush-hush going about this."

 

"No one wants to hear that from YOU," Sengoku snorted, offended at the pure gall of it.

 

"Vice-Admiral Garp, sir!" Coby suddenly shrieked. And while the boy did tend to shriek a lot, he had calmed down a lot in recent years, so it caught Garp's attention. That, and the genuine urgency and real fear in this scream.

 

"Captain!" another voice shrieked with much more pronounced fear. "I-I-I-I-It's—!"

 

" _What?!_ " Garp snapped.

 

It was Straw Hat's long-nosed crewmember that piped up instead, his face had lost all color. Snot dribbling from his nose and cold sweat pouring from him as if he were a man-sized sprinkler.

 

"IT'S THE FLEET ADMIRAL!"

 

It's not that it was Sakazuki that it was alarming. The problem was: what was the _Fleet Admiral_ doing here?!

 

Panic ensues among the defending crowd even as they continued to fight. The eldest Monkey briefly turned away and punched some idiot into the ground with a grunt, creating another crater. Everything was already set afire, the last thing they need was a magma man. Off to the side, Garp saw his grandson's crew brushing themselves off, the Pirate Hunter's intent shifting, revitalizing, and the Vinsmoke kid crushing his cigarette under his dress shoe. He couldn't help the toothy smirk that spread across his face. At least his youngest, good-for-nothing grandkid had found good comrades. While Straw Hats were panicking like chickens with their heads cut off or shifting nervously, the other half was ready to face down the man that left a mark on their captain.

 

Walking over, Garp casually grabs a telescope out of somebody's hands (who even knew anymore with how mixed these groups had become). Raising it, he took in the approaching forces. He growled at what he saw.

 

"Sengoku," he said, relaxed yet grim. "Those marching orders we got about who was gonna come here were shit."

 

"Obviously," Sengoku grunted. "Who's here exactly?"

 

This was supposed to be just a "Buster Call". Five Vice-Admiral, their forces, and maybe some additional designated corps to make for ten cruisers. It involved the Worst Generation, so Sakazuki had already had the top Vice-Admirals loyal to him ready. But for appearance's sake, to maintain the dignity of the Navy in the eyes of this country's citizens, it was supposed to at least _appear_ as a Buster Call.

 

This was not just a Buster Call.

 

"It's an Imperial Buster Call," Garp sighed as he reported, tossing the telescope over his shoulder in disgust. "So Sakazuki, Borsalino, a dozen Vice Admirals, and twice the number of Rear Admirals. I'm counting 35 cruisers and betting there's more circling the island as we're speaking."

 

"So one Fleet Admiral, one Admiral, and several more Vice Admirals than we predicted," the former Fleet Admiral sighed. Looked out of the corner of his eye. "And if they're encircling us and we managed to miss them, then that can only be on purpose." Side-eyeing Garp with a meaningful look, Sengoku's gritted teeth creaked as he grunted, "That means they knew we were going to be here."

 

Spinning around, his coat flared as he scanned the field, assessing the status of the battlefield. Garp suddenly flashbacked to other battlefields, other times, where the words on Sengoku's back had also loomed large in a way that had nothing to do with the actual size at the time. Because even when the situation was bad and morale wavered, that old bastard's unshakable will and stubborn faith in protecting the world was something you could have your back up against.

 

(And now, when they were about to clash with their fellow Marines, they needed that more than ever.)

 

" _Okay, you brats!_ " Sengoku's roar crested ominously over the battlefield. " ** _CLEAR OUT! All ‘citizens' and their allies are ordered to clear out of this area! WE WILL BE ENFORCING THE PEACE FROM HERE!_** "

 

" _No_ ," Straw-Hat Luffy growled. Swaying shakily back onto his feet from where he had landed heavily. "This is our fight. Don't butt in."

 

"Wrong, brat!" Garp growled right back. "Sakazuki may be here for you, but we're here for Marine business." He jerked his head at the encroaching forces. "This is _our_ fight."

 

"That brings up an important point," a low voice growled in what Garp guessed was a try at being threatening. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Sengoku's brat's brat shakily getting up. Huh. Apparently, the boy was less down for the count than he thought. "What are you doing here, Inspector General?"

 

It was Garp who answered instead.

 

A shift in his aura caught all the relevant player's attention, a shiver running down their spines and prickling across their skin. The old man picked his ear with his pinky, the image of casualness at odds with the sharp look in his eyes. One that most of the Straw Hats and Straw Hat allies recognized and were immediately wary of. Knew it as a look that Luffy had at his angriest, and one that made Garp look especially maniac.

 

"We're declaring war," Garp announced nonchalantly. "Sakazuki's Purge is consuming the world and the bastard can't be allowed to continue on unchecked. So we're doing something about it. We were planning to take out some of his top Vice-Admirals to make a statement but looks like he got the jump on us! BWAHAHAHA!"

 

"Ohmygod he's crazy, I knew it," someone muttered.

 

"GARP! DON'T TELL THEM THAT!"

 

The oldest D ignored Sengoku as usual.

 

"You're making a declaration of war," Sabo reiterated quietly in stunned awe. "An _actual, open, and official_ Marine _civil war_."

 

Garp shrugged, "Something like that."

 

Everyone around them face faulted at the casual answer.

 

"Go, Luffy," Garp rumbled, addressing his grandson even as he looked back on the horizon and the approaching Marines. "You've never listened to a single damn thing I've ever told you to do, so just listen to me this once. Go."

 

"Jiji…," Luffy stared back, a wide, vulnerable look on his face. It was such an open expression; open and earnest and _young_. Over a decade later and this just had to be the part of Luffy that didn't change.

 

"Jinbe," Garp addressed the First son instead as he stretched. "Your captain needs you and you have an oath to keep."

 

The former Warlord's eyes widened, staring at him in a moment of shock. A moment later though, a determined, resolute expression overtook the Fishman's face and he nodded once.

 

Snatching up his exhausted captain, Jiji took up running. The others followed his lead, or perhaps just ran after the downed Straw Hat captain. Similarly picking up their wounded comrades, pirate, Revolutionaries, rebelling civilians, and defending soldiers alike followed the somewhat open path cleared by the sympathetic Marines' arrival.

 

" _JIJIIIIIIIII!_ " Luffy screamed

 

"STRAW HAT!" one of the Blackbeard Pirates screamed, shooting past.

 

Before anyone else could so much as blink, Garp flashed there and delivered a casual kick that sent the man arching into the cliff face.

 

"BWAHAHAHAHA!" Garp roared in laughter. "MY GRANDSON IS A MAN THAT NONE OF YOU CAN STOP AND I'D LIKE TO SEE ANY OF YOU TRY!"

 

"Oh shut the fuck up, Garp," Sengoku snapped.

 

The older man grinned at his friend.

 

Never.

 

"Coby!" Garp barked an order, low and serious. The younger man immediately straightened, attentive and nervous of his mentor actually addressing him by name. "You and the turnip brat go with my idiot grandson."

 

The young man's head practically cracked with how fast he turned to stare confusedly at his mentor, "Sir! I'm a Marine—"

 

"This is an order, Captain," Sengoku immediately shut him down. "There are bigger plots here than just this damn Marine Civil War, soldier. Or even dealing with whatever machinations that damn Teach is scheming. For now, the main priority here is to evacuate the civilians, and most of the evacuation vessels are _pirate ships_. There needs to be a presence that is focused on their protection with them. Besides…," he grinned too wide, with pinpoint, threatening pupils. "This is an old dogs' fight."

 

Cody stared, looked on the edge of tears, then seemed to gather himself. Straightening up, he saluted Sengoku with a determined yet calm expression. Here was the face of a reliable Marine.

 

"…Understood, sir."

 

Sengoku nodded and looked back towards the approaching waving of Sakazuki's forces. He felt more than saw the slight displacement of air as Garp's protegee geppo'ed away along with the soldiers under the younger man's command. Even now, he could vaguely feel the lot of them moving towards the hidden harbor.

 

Garp strolled over, casually joining him as he continued to glare grimly out at the new wave of soldiers with crossed arms. Even as he himself also glared; his boisterous laugh echoed roughly in its cheer across the field.

 

"You do realize we'll be dishonored after this, right?" he not quite questioned. "Our very names will be struck out of the books of Marine records and history, depending on who the victors are."

 

"If you have doubts, you can leave," Sengoku growled. "As many questionable decisions as I've had to make throughout the years, I have lived and dedicated my life to the Navy and the protection of the innocent. I will continue to do so on my dying breath."

 

In the end, that's all they could do really. Garp seemed to agree, nodding with just a hint of rare solemnity.

 

"Strive for Justice," the Marine Hero quoted. It was a common saying in the older generation. It would have been fine if that was it, but then the lazy bastard side-eyed him and quoted another common saying. "Live for the Navy, die for family."

 

"That's not what this is about!" Sengoku snapped, before abruptly pausing. He became hyperaware of the contents in his undershirt's inner pocket. It was an old, worn picture, a simple graduation photo, with shiny spots around the edges from where he had held it too many times. He sighed, tired and exhausted and old, "But if this helps the boy Rosinante sacrificed everything for, then so be it."

 

The fucker _laughed at him_.

 

Just for that, Sengoku punched him in the head again. Garp let him, grumbling rebelliously and ignoring the new goose egg afterward.

 

But even he grew quiet when Sakazuki himself came into view.

 

It would be a lie if Monkey D. Garp said there was nothing he regretted. He had been an admiral. And he had loved his son, but he hadn't been a good father. He had done what was best for his grandchildren, but that did not make him a good grandfather. There had been horrible choices he had to make, some that he wished he hadn't made, some that he wished he hadn't _had_ to make.

 

In the periphery of his stretched Observation Haki, his grandson and his little followers and allies disappeared out of his range. Luffy and Sabo should be safe now, but who knows. It was out of his hands now unless he wanted Sakazuki to chase down those brats and put a burning hole through their bodies as well.

 

"Dragon…my grandson really is something." He muttered. "I hope you don't hold it against your father."

 

Akainu arrived in his usual hot glowing kind entrance, bubbling as threatening as he could. Dramatic brat.

 

"Inspector General Sengoku, Instructor Garp," Sakazuki rumbled. "What are you doing?"

 

""Bwahahaha! You know," Garp waved off the question. "Sight-seeing, taking in the view, trying out the local cuisine, taking out the local criminal element ransacking the town."

 

"And yet, you somehow miss Straw Hat and all his allies?"

 

"We were a bit more focused on the people targeting civilians," Garp shrugged. "It's not like we're helping the brats."

 

" _Aren't you?_ " Sakazuki snarled. "Because from where we stand, it certainly seems like you're aiding Straw Hat! Marine Hero…," he spat, his tone clearly ridiculing the title. "How far you have fallen that you would help _pirates!_ The scum of the seas!"

 

"Helping pirates?" Garp questioned, picking his nose. "I dunno what you're talking about, impulsive brat. It's simply that this old former Marine has some complaints and is taking it up with you. Right here. Right now." His casual demeanor suddenly melted away into something much more serious. "We have some issue with the way you've been running things amuck. How many civilian villages and islands have you put to the torch at this point, you rabid mutt?"

 

"Evil must be destroyed at the root."

 

Garp exhaled heavily. He understood on some level that talking was useless at this point. But…

 

"You took the words right out of my mouth, you little punk," Garp growled, his fists turning black with a threatening snap.

 

"This isn't about Straw Hat Luffy, Sakazuki!" It wasn't, as Sengoku said, but perhaps it was a little about Garp's grandsons. "This is about your policies and the consequences. About the Elder Stars and how you blindly follow their policies. Making a rabid dog the head was a mistake. And this is the result," Garp pointedly side-eyed the burning town around them. "Everything and everyone burning. Everything **destroyed** indiscriminately."

 

"Don't act as if you aren't biased in this," the current Fleet Admiral sneered.

 

"I never said I wasn't," Garp snapped, "As a grandfather, I swore that day that I would never lose another grandson to the Red Dog. And as a Marine, I swore that I would protect the seas and the innocent from those that would prey on the weak. For once, all of me is in agreement." A vicious, toothy grin like a bear's spread across the old man's face; underlining the frightening, battle-ready light in his eyes. "There is nothing holding me back now."

 

"Sengoku," Sakazuki turned, "You can't seriously be letting him do this."

 

The afro-haired man closed his eyes a bit, "I can't claim to be unbiased either. One of the men behind me is the child Rosinante gave his life and goal to save. But more than that," Sengoku exhaled before opening his eyes to look his successor in the eye. "I am old, jaded, and disillusioned. We all are. I'm not under any illusion that all the choices I made were good ones. And when I pass into the next world…how would I be able to look at Rosinante and tell him that I stood by and let the child he loved so to be killed?" A hard look took over the grief underlining his face. "But more than that, Sakazuki. _Even more than that_."

 

Garp remembered why it was Sengoku that was made Fleet Admiral, out of all their peers, all those decades ago.

 

"We are _Marines_!" he roared so that it echoed through the battlefield. "Our purpose has always been to protect the people. To shield them in the name of JUSTICE!"

 

"That's what I'm doing!"

 

"No!" Sengoku rebutted right back just as fiercely. "Look around you! This is the result of the machinations of the Warlords and the Celestial Dragons! You have let your one-minded drive to cloud your purpose and aren't even _trying_ to balance the costs! You say that hunting criminals and pirates are what you are doing to protect the people, but you have done it _at the cost of the people you were supposed to protect!_ "

 

Here, he paused, reining in his fierce scolding. The next words he said were as calm and terrible as the sea before a tsunami.

 

"The sign of a marine is the seabird. A vow to protect every being under its wings," the older man dictated, "And you are not worthy of that emblem."

 

They could all see the Red Dog's rage, the creak of his leather gloves ominously loud.

 

"Do you not understand," the current Fleet Admiral gritted out. " _One of those brats will become the Pirate King?_ "

 

Sengoku snorted, "I know better than most what the consequences will be," he reminded her bluntly. "But let's be honest…," the sharp look in his eyes could have cut the Fleet Admiral apart, "The event of someone finding One Piece was never a question of if, but of when."

 

Next to him, Garp rolled his shoulders, his Haki rising like an all-encompassing storm. Now that the civilians were out of the way…

 

They could truly go wild.

 

"That being said, that's not why we're here," Sengoku shrugged too-casually, too relaxed. His gaze sharpened, became harder and focused. "Your Justice is not suited for this world. And we of the previous generation will take responsibility for it. Come, Sakazuki," he gestured as he sank into a fighting stance, his body starting to glow gold. "We will put you down like the mad dog you are."

 

Akainu roared.

 

Garp and Sengoku roared back.

 

* * *

 

 

It was a hard run to the ships, but they made it.

 

As soon as everybody was on the ship, Luffy did something he rarely ever did in his life.

 

He looked back the way they came.

 

And promptly tried to slingshot himself back to shore.

 

Law, who had managed to regain some strength back during the desperate evacuation back to the ships and was three steps from the rubber captain,

summoning a desperate Room. Displacing the railing that Luffy's outstretched hands had grabbed onto as an anchor even as he bodily lunged at the rubber captain.

 

He managed to grab onto the younger man first and almost simultaneously with Roronoa and Jinbe. It was just a dog pile from there (with emphasis on _pile_ because _thank you **so much** for remembering that some of them didn't naturally have a superhuman physique_). Law admitted he was a bit relieved when two pairs of furry arms encircled the four of them as a whole; both Bepo and an enlarged Chopper cocooning them as best they could and digging in. From here, he noted that he could also see the edges of Jean Bart and a flash of bright blonde flurrying around.

 

But despite that, thanks to the rubberman's utterly insane brute strength, Luffy still managed to collectively drag all his hangers-on a good five feet across the Thousand Sunny's deck even while heavily injured, running on fumes, and probably more than a little drugged from the Seastone gas.

 

" _Luffy-ya!_ " Law, for lack of better words, mindlessly and desperately babbled. He didn't know what the younger man had sensed or seen or instinctually knew, but _he_ knew what they _couldn't do right now_. "We _can't_. I know, I _know_! But they made their choice! _We can't!_ "

 

"Luffy!" Zoro barked desperately, "Goddammit, Luffy— _Stop!_ "

 

Multiple arms sprouted from the ground, their clothes, and their skin to grab onto and bulwark the Straw Hat captain. However, the man would not be deterred. He had the wild, desperate look Law had seen in desperate battlefields. Fighting against all odds to reach that someone important. That someone he shared a strange, strange bond with.

 

Law carefully didn't think about the afro-haired, former fleet admiral.

 

"You saw those other Marines!" he hissed. "No matter what they did, they're here for their own reason! If you get in between them, you're getting in between _their_ fight!"

 

_"You're the only person who I can share the memory of Rosinante with, even though you're a pirate."_

 

Law gritted his teeth but wasn't sure if it was because an elbow just jabbed him in the kidney or at the memory.

 

**_Goddammit._ **

 

"I don't care!" Luffy snarled. "I don't care! _I DON'T CARE! J-Jiji—!"_

 

"Fucking— _Think of your crew, Strawhat_ ," he snapped. "If you go back, _they will follow. **Are you their captain or not?!** "_

 

Luffy stilled so suddenly that half the people who had apparently created a _tow line_ behind them collapsed from the slack.

 

The surgeon swallowed audibly.

 

"They made their choice…," he repeated carefully. If he wasn't careful, his voice would shake. From exhaustion. Straw Hat couldn't hear that kind of weakness right now. "It wasn't…they weren't just protecting us. They…it…they're _Marines_. And that was _Marine business_."

 

He felt the younger man start to shake. By the time he fully registered the shaking, a raw, muffled sound of a wounded animal started to ring. But all he could do was tighten his grip the way the other captain. And slowly, shakily, a thin pair of arms curled to desperately cling to him. Tightening as seconds went on to the point it _hurt_. Law wasn't sure if he was clinging to the younger man, pressing him so tightly, to keep him from escaping or to keep _himself_ from flying apart. But the result was the two of them, clinging and fisting each other's clothes desperately, the center of a giant group hug.

 

_"If you really wanna do something in his memory, both you and I should always remember him."_

 

 ** _"Jijiiiiiiii!"_** Luffy wailed, his head thrown back as he screamed up to the black clouds lit black from raging fires in the distance. **_"WAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"_**

 

Law felt some liquid pour down his face, the salt of it stinging the wounds across his face.

 

It was blood. Just some slight scrape of a head wound. Nothing else.

 

_"That's good enough. And you live your life as you like. That's what he would say."_

 

* * *

 

 

_As Sengoku walked through the refugee camp, he was careful to keep his pace slow and his movements readable. All around him, from every nook and shadow, dozens of eyes studied him distrustfully. Conversations were abruptly cut off when he came within hearing distance. Men and women held themselves tense and watched him pass warily. Small children playing in the street were yanked away and swept out of sight._

_He wasn't wearing the seagull insignia, but it didn't matter. Every man, woman, and child knew who he was. His face was just too deeply associated with the Marines, and (thanks to recent events) all these people now associated the Marines with senseless and brutal violence. For these common citizens, the Marines were no longer protectors. They were now the enemy._

_It made Sengoku's heart hurt._

_What was worst was that he didn't blame them in the least. Everywhere he looked, people carried the signs and scars of a battle they never should have been a part of. The mismatched tents were visibly bedraggled and hastily set up, despite the care that the people had clearly gone into trying to make everything as livable and comfortable as possible. There wasn't a man, woman, or children that didn't have white bandages peeking out from some part of their body. And each new observation renewed the Sengoku's deep shame in the part he had played in bringing the battles about._

_It was almost a relief to reach his destination. And he had to pause to appreciate the irony of it, as relief was something no one should feel at the prospect of meeting Monkey D. Garp. But after walking through the hostile, fearful, and resentful camp that reminded Sengoku of just how bad things had become, mentally prepared himself for a fight with the Hero of the Marines was actually more preferable._

_Brusquely pushing the tent flap aside, he moved into the shadow of the tent without hesitation to where his old friend was having his bandages changed. The old dog lazily turned his head to peer at Sengoku out of the corner of his eye, but didn't deign to move otherwise. Just allowing the young woman with dark green hair, a bandanna, and a baby slung over her back to do her work._

_For all that the slight movement seemed casual, there was an underlying tension. A dog whose lip was barely twitching in the beginnings of baring its teeth._

_And this was Garp. Garp, intent and focused and grim with none of his casualness and infuriating lightheartedness. And if that didn't tell him how bad things were right now, then nothing would._

_"Sengoku…," Garp huffed, friendly and relaxed. "I know I said to drop by whenever for a visit, but this is a lousy time."_

_The former fleet admiral wasn't fooled. He knew that Garp had known of his arrival as soon as his boat had entered the island's waters. Those who carried the name D tended to be volatile beings, one way or another. Garp had never been even close to an exception, and Sengoku had been the man's friend and comrade long enough to recognize the tension in the former Marine's bandaged shoulders._

_"I got here as soon as I could," he replied._

_Garp had his back to him. But Sengoku had known the man for decades. He knew better than most the danger of this man right now._

_"The others," Garp emphasized, still dangerously calm, still too casual. "Got here a lot sooner."_

_"My condolences to the citizens of Foosha Village," the afro-haired man rumbled, just managing to keep himself from snapping back. "But unlike us, Sakazuki's forces have the advantage of running legal operations. Of course, he'll get here faster!"_

_Garp snorted. "You say it as if it wasn't that brat Akainu leading MARINE TROOPS. As if wiping out tiny CIVILIAN VILLAGES WAS JUSTICE," his too-casual musing turning into a furious roar. By his last words, the man had risen to his feet, swinging around, with veins bulging from the forehead over Garp's dark, enraged face._

_In the face of that, Sengoku sighed. Even while the young woman helping Garp gasped sharply and stepped back in the face of Garp's rage, all the former Admiral could see was the sheer amount of helplessness and frustration churning within the elder D. But perhaps it was just something recognizable for someone who had also been dealing with such feelings._

_His lack of reaction seemed to remind Garp that he wasn't yelling._

_"Sengoku," rumbled, quieter but no less tense. "It's time."_

_"What the hell are you saying," Sengoku snapped. "It's too soon, you old foo—!"_

_"YOU are the fool if you think this can go on any longer, Sengoku!"_

_A tense silence rang loudly through the tent. A silent battle of wills that Sengoku lost._

_"Fine," Sengoku growled back angrily. He then paused and sighed in exhaustion. "Fine." He looked his oldest friend in the eye. "But there will be no turning back," he muttered. "Garp."_

_The tension suddenly left Garp's shoulders like a flood. Suddenly, Garp looked tired. Tired and old. And wasn't that a kick in the nuts._

_"Makino," he addressed the woman attending him. "Gather the village heads and representatives. I'll be leaving soon, so there are things that we need to discuss."_

_The woman left with some hesitation, peeking back at them from the tent entrance before slipping away._

_"As I thought," Sengoku rumbled once they were alone. There were far too many refugees for this camp to consist of only the Foosha Village residents."_

_Garp snorted at the observation, "But far too few for the number of villages that are actually here. The East Sea is a gentle one, with gentle people to match. Akainu's forces did a number on the civilians. We're lucky that the ones they targeted are tougher than most." He paused, a dark look taking over his face. "Tough, but nothing like us."_

_"We are remnants of an age long passed," Sengoku reminded him. "Relics. But...," his lips twitched in amusement, "I don't think we're too creaky to get back on that world stage again."_

_Garp grinned, "One last hurrah, eh?"_

_Sengoku simply reached into his jacket, pulling out a bundle of papers and unfurled the newspaper with a sharp smack, "If this isn't our cue, then I don't know what is."_


End file.
